We want more! £500 'bribe' given to Tube workers not to strike during Olympics isn't enough, says union

Thousands of militant Tube workers yesterday rejected a £500 bonus to simply do their jobs during the Olympics.

Union bosses insisted it was not an ‘adequate reward’ for 14,000 staff including drivers, station and ticket staff, signallers and engineers.

The RMT, led by Bob Crow, was accused of holding London Underground and Olympic chiefs to ransom after talks on the payment ended in disagreement.

Tube workers have rejected the latest offer of pay for not going on strike during the Olympics

The breakdown sabotaged the VIP launch of a campaign to persuade spectators and commuters that the capital’s transport system can cope with the huge demands of the Games.

The bonus would come on top of £1,200 extra already earmarked for 3,500 Tube drivers for working different and longer shifts during the Olympics.

And all Underground workers are getting a generous four-year general pay deal. This will leave the average driver’s annual salary at more than £50,000 for a 35-hour week with more than eight weeks of holiday.

General Secretary of the RMT Bob Crow says his union just wants 'a fair deal'

Former Transport Minister Stephen Hammond MP said: ‘The unions should not hold London to ransom during the Olympics as millions of people struggle during these difficult economic times.’

Matthew Sinclair, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, added: ‘The Olympics has cost enough without the threat of Tube drivers holding the capital and the Games to ransom.’

The controversial bonus is an annual payment based on customer surveys.

Both the RMT and bosses agree it should be higher this year to reward the ‘additional effort’ of staff, but cannot agree by how much.

The rejected amount, claims the union, is made up of £100 for meeting ‘unspecified and arbitrary’ targets. The remaining £400 is based on £20 per shift over the month-long event, when millions of extra people will use the transport system.

But the hard-line union objects as those on leave or off sick would receive ‘less or nothing’. It also claimed: ‘There is no reward for the increased workload taken on by staff.’

RMT chiefs are also angry that: ‘This offer does not reward staff for the work during the run-up to the Games.’

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General secretary Mr Crow said the union would continue to press for an across-the-board payment to all staff.

‘All we are calling for is a fair deal for all the staff involved in delivering the colossal transport challenge that we will be facing this summer,’ he insisted.

Transport for London boss Peter Hendy said the breakdown in talks was ‘a tactic’. He added: ‘We will get a deal with the RMT. Our staff are going to be very proud to do this.’

Let the Games commence: The deal would cover a period of almost nine weeks during the Olympics and Paralympics

Other transport workers are also cashing in on the Games. Just days ago, workers on the Docklands Light Railway were given a deal worth up to £2,500 to work up to five hours of guaranteed overtime per week during the event.

More than 500 staff on the London Overground are also getting a bonus of at least £600.

The latest dispute threatened to overshadow the high-profile drive to boost public confidence that London’s transport network will cope with the huge demands of the Olympics.

'GO FOR A BEER TO BEAT THE OLYMPIC CROWDS'

London's Transport Commissioner Peter Hendy has suggested people should ‘go for a beer’ to help space out their journeys at peak times during the Olympics.

He was speaking as a publicity campaign was launched today to try to help people navigate London’s public transport system during the Games.

There is information available online of the 30 busiest stations and where ‘in theory’ people could be waiting for half an hour, he pointed out.

Mr Hendy said: ‘With a bit of forethought and care about when you use the transport system at a very busy time it will all work out alright.

‘I have never seen anyone in a Tube station for half an hour - go for a beer.

'We are on track but still have an awful lot to do. We have got to get the athletes to the Games but we also have to keep the city moving.’

The campaign also suggests other options for people, such as working at different times or locations, teleconferencing rather than travelling to meetings, or alternative modes of transport including walking and cycling where practical.

Those involved included Transport Secretary Justine Greening, London Mayor Boris Johnson and Lord Coe, head of Olympics organisers Locog.

Mr Hendy said: ‘We’re not saying it will all run perfectly. We’re trying to make it run as well as we can. It’ll be all right.

‘You don’t need to sit under the table with a tin hat on and tins of beans for the duration.’

He hit back at what he called the Olympics ‘gloom-mongers’ and urged commuters to help by staggering train journeys by going ‘for a beer’ after work.

Mr Johnson urged ‘Olympic fat cats’ to ‘get on their bikes’ or use the Tube to get around.

On the bonus dispute, he appealed to train workers’ better nature, adding: ‘The majority will want to participate in a great Games.’

Miss Greening said: ‘I urge the unions to agree an early resolution of this dispute so Londoners, visitors and businesses are provided with the service they need during this once-in-a-life-time sporting celebration.’